Tennis Australia exposed for its heavy use of plastic during the Australian Open

January 18, 2024

Organisers of the Australian Open have been called hypocritical this week by two-time champion Victoria Azarenka for the tournament's heavy usage of plastic and not following through on their environmental pledges.

After her first round victory, Belarusian former world No.1 tennis player Azarenka, took issue with the Australian Open’s environmental sustainability pledge when thousands of single-use plastic cups are being handed out at the Aperol Terrazza Bar and 600,000 mini plastic tubes of sunscreen are being offered across Melbourne Park.

Azarenka, who is the highest-profile member on the WTA Player Council, said the Australian Open was guilty of “smoke and mirrors” and does not feel the Australian Open has followed through on a commitment to minimising their environmental impact.

“We have water bottles that are recyclable, but then we have plastic everywhere around. What are we actually doing?” Azarenka said in her post-match press conference after her first-round win on Tuesday.

“It’s like one step we’re trying to take to absolutely sustainability and et cetera, but you’re selling plastic all over the stadium.

“I want to make sure that when we do something, that is important. But it looks like – what’s that sentence – smoke and mirrors? I don’t like that. If we are going to do something important and try to be sustainable, okay, let’s actually do that.”

In early January ahead of the tournament, Tennis Australia announced an extension of its partnership with Bondi Sands as the Official Sunscreen Partner of the Australian Open and Summer of Tennis for an additional multi-year period while in December 2023, a new multi-year partnership agreement was signed between Tennis Australia and Campari Australia - making Aperol its Official Aperitif from 2024.

With sun safety at the forefront of the Bondi Sands’ mission and a top priority for the Australian summer, the partnership was considered to be “a natural fit for both Bondi Sands and Tennis Australia.”

At the time of the announcement, Tennis Australia’s Chief Commercial Officer Cedric Cornelis enthused “we are delighted to announce that Bondi Sands has extended its partnership with the Australian Open as the Official Sunscreen Partner for another three years.

“Their commitment to sun safety aligns perfectly with our dedication to ensuring a safe and enjoyable experience for all fans throughout the Summer of Tennis.”

Australian skin protection company Bondi Sands said it had partnered with the Australian Open to hand out “over 600,000 free samples” of 10ml SPF 50 sunscreen tubes during the tournament at over 40 water misting stations and sunscreen hut stations scattered around Melbourne Park.

Cornelis was also enthusiastic when in December 2023 Tennis Australia signed a new multi-year partnership agreement with Campari Australia, making Aperol its Official Aperitif from 2024, Cornelis

Cornelis enthused “we are incredibly excited to have Aperol return as a Partner in 2024. Both tennis and the Aperol Spritz are synonymous with summer in Australia, making this the perfect partnership between two icons. We can’t wait to see fans attending events across the Summer of Tennis sitting back and enjoying the world-class tennis while sipping a refreshing Aperol Spritz for years to come.”

Simon Durrant, Managing Director - Australia at Campari Group added “Summer is officially served with Aperol making its much anticipated return to the Australian Open and major Australian tennis tournaments in 2024.

“At its core, Aperol is about embracing the Italian lifestyle of enjoying the company of friends and family over a lively drink. For Australians who love socialising over sport, what a better place to do this than at a premier sporting such as the Australian Open this summer.”

However, 600,000 of 10ml tubes and thousands of single-use plastic cups filled with Aperol Spritz are not helping the Australian Open’s commitment to reducing its landfill after partnering in 2022 with Australian enviro-tech company Samsara Eco to recycle thousands of plastic bottles used throughout the event.

Samsara Eco was founded in 2019 through a partnership between Main Sequence, the CSIRO venture capital arm, Woolworths and the Australian National University to commercialise ANU technology that uses enzymes to break down and reuse plastic.

The Australian business uses plastic-eating enzymes to break down plastic waste to basic components, allowing it to be repeatedly recycled and create other products.

Tennis Australia Chief Strategy Officer Tim Jolley said at the time the organisation was "committed to minimising our environmental impact".

Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley previously spoke at an event for climate action in Paris, telling the crowd his grand slam was "in a unique position to help drive awareness of the need for increase sustainability".

Tennis Australia said its Samsara investment was part of the Australian Open’s growing focus of sustainability which included: tracking and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, supplying reusable plates and bowls, reducing landfill, eliminating plastic lids from AO tennis ball tubes and using 20 Kia EV fleet cars.

It is estimated up to one million fans will visit Melbourne Park across the 14-day event.

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